Best fragrance-free cleanser

How we chose

This page is a shopping guide to fragrance-free facial cleansers, organized by format and by the differences you can see on the ingredient lists. We read each maker’s own page, compared the statement it makes with the list, and kept products only where the list contains no fragrance, parfum, aroma, perfume, essential oils or fragrance chemicals. We have not tested products ourselves, and we make no claims here about how well any of them cleans or how they feel. Acne treatments and medicated washes are left out; see the fragrance-free acne cleanser page for that category.

“Fragrance-free” and “unscented” are different claims. The FDA notes that fragrance ingredients are common in shampoos, shower gels and lotions, and that even some products labeled “unscented” may contain them, since a manufacturer may add just enough to mask the smell of other ingredients. It also notes that fragrance ingredients can be listed simply as “Fragrance”. Our fragrance-free vs unscented guide goes further, and how to read an ingredient list covers the alternative names. If you want the dry-skin version of this list, see gentle fragrance-free cleanser for dry skin.

What to look for, by format

Gel and gel-to-foam. These lists are mostly water, glycerin and synthetic surfactants, with a thickener and a preservative. The two gels here differ in which surfactants they use: Cetaphil’s list has cocamidopropyl betaine, disodium laureth sulfosuccinate and sodium cocoamphoacetate, while Neutrogena’s has cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine, sodium cocoyl isethionate and sodium methyl cocoyl taurate.

Cream or lotion style. A list with fatty alcohols and glyceryl stearate (as in CeraVe’s) is built as an emulsion rather than a gel. These lists also tend to be longer, because they carry the emulsifiers, thickeners and added skin-type ingredients.

Surfactants. The cleansing ingredients are what differ most. Avène lists coco-glucoside and sodium cetearyl sulfate; CeraVe lists behentrimonium methosulfate and sodium lauroyl lactylate alongside its emulsifiers. If you know a particular surfactant bothers you, this is the line to read.

Preservatives. Phenoxyethanol appears on CeraVe’s and Neutrogena’s lists. Avène uses sodium benzoate with caprylyl glycol, and Cetaphil uses sodium benzoate.

Oils and extracts. None of the four lists an essential oil. Avène lists an aquaphilus dolomiae extract filtrate; CeraVe lists tocopherol, cholesterol and phytosphingosine; Cetaphil lists panthenol and niacinamide; Neutrogena lists hydrolyzed hyaluronic acid and a potato-starch derivative. These are listed facts, not statements about effect.

Avène Tolerance Extremely Gentle Cleanser

Evidence: captured from the maker’s page in a browser on 2026-11-13; our automated fetch was blocked, so it is not fetch-verified. The maker states: “Fragrance-free, paraben-free, silicone-free, soap-free”. The thirteen listed ingredients are aquaphilus dolomiae extract filtrate, arginine, caprylyl glycol, coco-glucoside, disodium phosphate, hydroxycapric acid, magnesium oxide, potassium phosphate, sodium benzoate, sodium cetearyl sulfate, sodium hydroxide, tromethamine and water. That is the only list of the four with no glycerin and no oils or waxes, and it pairs coco-glucoside with sodium cetearyl sulfate as surfactants. Format is not captured; the list has no thickener or fatty alcohol that would indicate a cream, so we leave it unclassified.

No Amazon listing found; this link goes to the maker’s site and is not an affiliate link. Avène Tolerance Extremely Gentle Cleanser.

CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser

Evidence: maker page read by our fetch on 2026-11-13. The page callout reads “Free of Added Fragrance”. Read that wording carefully: it speaks of added fragrance, and we confirmed separately that the list contains no fragrance entry. The twenty-four listed ingredients begin with water, glycerin, cetearyl alcohol, PEG-40 stearate and stearyl alcohol, and include ceramide NP, ceramide AP, ceramide EOP, cholesterol, phytosphingosine, sodium hyaluronate and tocopherol. Preservation is by phenoxyethanol with ethylhexylglycerin, and the list includes disodium EDTA. This is the longest list here and the one whose structure looks most like a lotion. See also our is CeraVe fragrance-free page and the CeraVe vs Cetaphil comparison.

CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser, normal to dry skin.

Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser Fragrance Free

Evidence: maker page read by our fetch on 2026-11-13. The maker’s page copy calls it “This Fragrance Free gentle gel to foam formula”, and “Fragrance Free” is also in the product name. The twelve listed ingredients are water, glycerin, cocamidopropyl betaine, disodium laureth sulfosuccinate, sodium cocoamphoacetate, panthenol, niacinamide, pantolactone, acrylates/C10-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymer, sodium benzoate, sodium chloride and citric acid. It is the shortest list, with no phenoxyethanol, no fatty alcohols and no oils. See is Cetaphil fragrance-free for the brand’s other products.

Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser Fragrance Free.

Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Cleansing Gel, Fragrance Free

Evidence: maker page read by our fetch on 2026-11-13. The maker’s line is “The fragrance free foaming face wash with hyaluronic acid”. The seventeen listed ingredients are water, glycerin, cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine, sodium cocoyl isethionate, sodium methyl cocoyl taurate, sodium chloride, sodium hydrolyzed potato starch dodecenylsuccinate, potassium acrylates copolymer, hydroxyacetophenone, phenoxyethanol, linoleamidopropyl PG-dimonium chloride phosphate, polyquaternium-10, sodium hydroxide, disodium EDTA, citric acid, ethylhexylglycerin and hydrolyzed hyaluronic acid. The maker page offers 7.8, 12 and 16 fl oz; the Amazon listing we matched is a 6 oz size, which the maker’s page does not offer, so check that the Amazon list matches the one above. See is Neutrogena fragrance-free.

Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Cleansing Gel, Fragrance Free.

What the label does not tell you

A fragrance-free list says nothing about whether you will tolerate the product. Other listed ingredients, preservatives and surfactants included, can bother some people, and a missing fragrance entry does not rule that out. For skin reactions or a suspected allergy, talk to a clinician or an allergy or dermatology society; this page can only report what the labels say. The National Eczema Association seal is one outside programme, but we did not check it for these products. For other categories, see fragrance-free moisturizer and fragrance-free toner.